Take Me Home
by xxpia
Summary: Nalu/One-shot; AU. Happy and Natsu was on a misson, but on their way home through the town, they lose each other. Happy gets lost and try to search for Natsu, only to fail. He settlse on a bench, feeling terribly sorry for himself - then a blond girl shows up.


**Take Me Home**

"Natsu~!" The blue feline cried out, looking around to see if he could catch a glimpse of his partner and best friend. There was no such luck. Wherever much he looked, he didn't caught sight of any pink hair or someone causing a ruckus.

Feeling terribly sorry for himself, the blue Exceed settled down on a nearby bench, watching the crowded street as people walked past.

No one offered the blue cat a second glance. As tears welled up in his big eyes and his nose started running, all hope left the little cat. _I'm going to end up alone; I'll never find my way back; I'm never going to see Natsu again!_

Tears ran down his furry cheeks and he wailed for his friend to come and find him. He felt lonely and scared, so hopelessly lost. Surly Natsu would find him in the end, but the pessimistic mind of the blue feline had made up his mind: he was going to be dead before that time. Either from cold or starvation, he didn't know.

Those thought made him sob even louder and he cried out again, "Natsu~!"

"Ne, is everything okay?"

Happy looked startled up at the blond person in front of him. She was standing slightly bent down, hands clamped together at her back, her golden locks framing her face. Her brown eyes stared down at him, worried and friendly.

He sniffled and shook his head.

"What's the matter? You lost?" The blue Exceed fiddled with his paws, nodding his head. This town was way bigger once you were alone, and without Natsu by his side, the cat felt awfully scared. He wasn't such a good fighter after all. "You poor thing, need some help to find your way home?"

For the first time since Happy noticed his friend was gone, he felt a spark of hope. Maybe there was some way to find Natsu! Maybe he didn't have to die on the sidewalk by himself!

"Aye, sir!" He exclaimed, holding his paw up with a determined expression on his furry face.

The blond girl smiled, relived that he wasn't crying anymore. Just as she was about to ask him for further information, a growling sound came from the felines small stomach. An ashamed and devastated expression took over the cats feature.

The blond giggled. "You hungry?"

"Aye..."

* * *

"Thank you for the fish, Luchi!" Happy was happily munching on a fish on top of the table. Lucy sat before him, smiling despite the strange situation.

The mere thought of fish had gotten the felines mood brightened up. Once he had actually got it, all thoughts about being lost was gone. Lucy didn't have the heart to bring up the subject quite yet, he seemed so carefree there he munched on the fish head.

Once he finished with the fourth fish, he laid back and patted his tummy with a satisfied face. He sighed and grinned at Lucy.

The blond smiled back, folding her hands under her chin while she tried to think about how to bring the problem at hand up. She didn't have to think long, the Exceed sat up with a serious face and carefully asked, "Do you really think we'll find Natsu?"

Even though she was a little taken aback by his hopeless tone, she didn't need to think about her answer. "We'll find him."

He nodded, determination settling by her answer. They would definitely find him, now that he wasn't alone anymore he felt a lot better after all.

"So," Lucy started, thinking of a way to start their search. "How do this Natsu look?"

She needed a description, that was for sure. She would also need to know where they had been, and where they were headed to. Perhaps she could ask the town security for help, but that would be later - first they had to give it a shot on their own.

"How Natsu look?" Happy echoed, cocking his head.

Lucy nodded. "Just tell me about him, describe him to me. How he looks, how he acts, where he would go - those kind of things."

The cat sat down, patting his paw on his chin and thinking hard. After a while he nodded, as if he agreed with himself and started.

"He has pink hair." That was a start at least, and to Lucy's knowledge, not a lot of men walked around with salmon hair around here. "He really likes fire. And he always starts fight!"

Happy smiled proudly, like he had just given the description of his life. Lucy felt her spirit drop a little, but refused to give up. She knew the feeling of being lost; she would do everything in her power to reunite these two.

"How tall is he?" Lucy asked, trying to form a picture in her head.

"Hmm," Happy thought aloud. "A head taller than you, maybe. And he wears a scaled scarf!"

Happy nodded with a very, very satisfied expression.

Lucy laughed, though it was half-hearted. "Okay, so we should be looking for places where there is fire?"

Somehow she was dubious whether that would work. She hoped her expression didn't look as doubtful as she felt.

"Or stands with spicy food!"

That was more helpful. "Okay, spicy food and... fighting?"

The cat nodded. "Aye!"

Lucy smiled, "Then let's go!"

* * *

They tracked down every stand that sold spicy food. When asking about the rose-haired man, a handful of them said they'd seen him (though they had kicked him away when they realized he didn't have any money).

After that they searched for places with fires, and there actually was one. A street-performer that played with fire. Lucy had to admit he was rather good, but when asking about the pink haired man, things got unpleasant.

"That bastard tried to eat my fire! He's crazy! Trying to outdo me and stealing the crowed - he's scum! Probably got himself into trouble. Damned bastard."

Happy had only replied with a, "That's Natsu for you!"

When the guy got nasty towered the cat, Lucy got enough and kicked him in the jewels. He went straight down, cursing noisy and troublesome traveller. Lucy and Happy only continued their search.

After walking around for an hour, they stumbled upon a bunch of men full of bruises. Trying their luck, Lucy walked over and questioned them about an obnoxious, pink haired man.

None of them was of any help, shaking their heads and looking over at one another to see if there was any other whom had encountered such a person. They were about to leave when one of the men suddenly yelled out.

"Hey, what about the crazy guy that started to spit fire, didn't he have pink hair?" After a lot of murmuring, people did agree that, yes, he most certainty must have had pink hair. "Your guy a mage?"

Lucy let the 'your guy' slip. "Ye-"

"He's a Dragon Slayer!" Happy exclaimed proudly. Lucy grabbed the feline and held him tightly against her chest, covering his mouth.

"Eh, really?" A man spat. He had a black eye and a red and dirty towel around his neck. "Saw the guy not too long ago, making a ruckus. He yelled something about a friend and being lost. Dunno what it was about, but it became a fight. The dude was destroying everything, a real maniac - a monster if you would. Anyway, last thing I saw was that he landed in a carriage and that was that."

Happy was ecstatic. The blond didn't want to crush his hope, but she didn't want him to get too hopeful either, in case this was just another goose chase.

"Where was the carriage headed?" Lucy asked. Most likely he had gotten a punch to the head and been knocked out. If he landed in the carriage it was a big chance that he was unconscious and unaware of where he was heading.

"The carriage?" Another man spoke. "It probably belong to one of the salesmen, you know the stand where they sell the wired fish and other wired stuff? He'll know where the carriage goes."

Lucy thanked them all for their help and walked off to find the salesman. Happy wasn't much of a help after the mention of fish - he was off in some daydream about rare, delicious fishes.

Maybe if she bought one the salesman would be happier to help, and she wouldn't have to hear about Happy complaining about never eating the delicious, exotic fish.

* * *

After buying three exotic (and expensive) fishes, and much explaining and arguing with the salesman, the duo headed for the neighbor town.

It was already dark when they started their journey, the salesman warned them of thieves and other dangers. Lucy had only thanked him for his information and set out.

Happy was much more concerned. He was only a small Exceed, all he could do was fly away if they got the opportunity. If they met thieves with magic, they would be screwed!

"Calm down, Happy," Lucy said, patting the shivering fur-ball in her arms. "Everything will be fine."

He hoped so, but her calmness didn't as much relax him as it worried him. Natsu could handle anything, but he hardly knew Lucy. Sure she could kick a street-preformer, but if thieves came along... She was a mere human after all.

They walked for hours. Happy fell asleep every now and then, lulled to sleep by Lucy's warmth and soothing humming. Every time he woke up, it would seem darker and the road they followed would seem exactly the same. However there was no sign of Lucy taking any break.

After what seemed like the entire night, they spotted light from a town. At first Happy thought it was the sun peeking over the treetops, but Lucy pointed out it was the middle of the night so it had to be the town.

That made Happy excited, though it soon died down to numbing fear.

Blocking the light, a man appeared on the road in front of them. He wore a long coat, hair black and spiky. Half of his face was tattooed with a Guild mark - even the mark was black - and both the blond and the Exceed immediately recognized it as one of the dark guilds.

Happy trembled with fear, tears welling up in his eyes. What should they do? They didn't have anything to offer, and even if they were to take flight, they might not make it - they didn't know how fast this stranger was, nor what his magic was.

"Are you lost?" The man sang out, his voice lighter then what one would expect. Happy quivered and clutched at Lucy, keeping back a sob.

"Not really, we're looking for a friend."

Happy looked up at Lucy, snot hanging from his nose. She didn't have her pleasant smile on, instead she seemed annoyed - almost pissed. A shiver went down Happy's spine, and this time it wasn't because of the stranger.

"Is that so?" The stranger smiled, just a lift of his mouth. It was cold and unfriendly. "May it be that this friend have pink hair, hmm?"

Happy made a strangled sound, though Lucy remained eerily calm.

"I saw him lay in a ditch; such a pitiful sight. Unfortunately he didn't have anything of value on him, so I left him there."

The stranger shrugged. Happy noticed that Lucy had gone stiff, and that she was clenching her fist.

"Nothing of value? Don't make me laugh," came Lucy's voice. It was cold and sharp, scary and unsettling.

"Hmm? Do you say I'm a liar?" The stranger had an edge in his voice, too, now.

"Natsu~!"

The man laughed, causing Lucy to cringe and Happy to sob louder. He noticed that what he had thought was a scary Lucy, had been nothing in comparison to this Lucy.

Squeezing Happy with one hand, she fished out a key from her pocket. "I command thee to open; Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"

All of a sudden, a cow-man stood between them and the stranger. He was large, muscular with a giant labrys and... a speedo.

"I won't let you touch that amoozing body!" And without further ado, Lucy shouted, "Finish him off, Taurus!" And the cow happily applied.

The fight was short lived.

Taurus wilded the labrys with ease, sending it with great force down on the enemy. It was a great attack; would most certainly have ended the enemy, had he been there.

The stranger moved fast, dodging the attack and punching Taurus from behind. The punch itself wasn't strong enough to knock the spirit out, but the punch combined with his magic was enough to set the cow spirit out of game.

The cow turned just in time to see the mans eyes glow red before his body got electrocuted. Spasming on the ground, the spirit apologized before disappearing.

The stranger was laughing.

"There's no way you can beat me," he said. "Whatever you pull out, I will only zap them with my magic and their bodies will go numb."

"You're zapping them with you life-force, the body can't handle the pressure building within and therefor collapses." Lucy's hand was already grabbing another key.

At the same time as she held the key out, she dropped Happy to the ground and stepped in front of him. "I command thee to open; Gate of the Cains Minor, Nikola!"

This time a small, white creature stood in front of them. It wasn't bigger than Happy, with a horn like nose and small, black eyes.

It opened it small mouth and exclaimed, "Pun, pun!" then it danced around in circles.

The dark mage doubled over with laughter, shouting insults about meeting the weakest mage of all time. Even Happy had defeat written across his face as he watched the creature dance around happily.

"Lucy-Kick!"

Out of the blue, Lucy sprang forward and kicked with all her might. The mages head snapped backwards, a crunching sound being heard as her foot connected with his nose.

He screamed bloody-murder, clutching his nose and howling like a wild animal. Lucy sent him a disgusted look before crushing his head under her foot, knocking him out.

"Plue is very powerful, he distracts people like no one else," the blond sniffed, turning back and grinning at the dancing creature. "You were great, Plue!"

"Pun, puun~!"

Lucy turned to a shocked Happy, frozen in place as he watched the two creature in front of him.

"You want to go find Natsu now?" She asked, holding out her hand. Plue also turned to look at the Exceed, encouragingly exclaiming, "Pu-pun!"

Happy looked to the ground, still distressed by this change if event. When he looked up, his nostrils flared and he stared at Lucy with a blank face.

His voice held every emotion his face didn't. "YOU'RE A MAGE?"

* * *

They found him in a ditch, just like the dark mage had exclaimed.

In her head she had been chasing a pink-haired, faceless, fire-eating man. When she got to watch him, he was quite different from what she had expected.

His hair was salmon and spiky, and his skin was very tan. He was also very muscular and wearing only a vast and baggy shorts, as well as sandals.

She also noticed, there he lay unconscious, that his teeth were very sharp. Since he was laying, it was hard to tell his height, but it seemed about right that he was a head taller than her.

"Natsu~!" The blue Exceed cried, throwing himself around the boys neck and crying his eyes out. "I was so scared, Natsu!"

The boy groaned, turning his head and moaning as if in pain. Lucy was immediately there, asking what was wrong.

"The... carri-age... so horr-ble!" He made a gagging noise and collapsed back on the ground.

Happy sniffed and explained. "Natsu has motion-sickness," he hiccuped.

Lucy laughed and settled by the boys head, laying it in her lap. Carefully she started to massage his forehead and scalp, making a noise escape the Dragon Slayer.

Maybe it was the color slowly returning to the boys face, or something else that the blond couldn't point out, however the Exceed started to tell all about their adventure on finding the Dragon Slayer. The latter laid there in silence, listening and occasionally smiling. Lucy continued massaging his head, unsure of what else to do, while she too listened to Happy's wild tale.

"It was so scary, Natsu~! I thought I was going to die - but then Lucy saved me~!" The blue feline said, purring and sobbing at the same time.

The salmon haired boy chuckled, finally sitting up with some effort. He scratched his neck, smiling goofily while still seeming a little groggy. The action reminded Lucy, and she turned to get the item. When she handed it over, both Happy and Natsu stared as if she had just popped two heads.

"Happy told me about it, and then I spotted it in the mages inner pocket. It is precious to you, right?" She smiled at them, all innocent and happy for them both.

Natsu took the scarf out of her hands, his other hand scratching his head. "Eh, thank you, Luigi."

The blond pouted, placing her spirit in her lap and absentmindedly stroking its head. "Lu-cy."

Her words was ignored, the boys attention having gone over to the creature in her lap. "What is _that_?"

Happy jumped into Natsu lap, grinning. "It is Plue! Did I mention Lucy is a Celestial Spirit Mage?" The blue feline nodded very proudly, sending Natsu a cocky smirk.

"It's… a snowman."

Lucy gaped. "He's a Cains Minor! Nikola! A— a—"

"Doggy!" Happy exclaimed, and Plue answered his cry with his own, "Pu-puun~!"

The blond deadpanned and sighed. A soft smile came to her lips and she gazed down at the spirit in her lap. "Well, it's good that we found he, ne, Happy? Make sure not to lose each other again, okay?" She got up with Plue in her arms, smiling down at them. "I better get on my way, you two has a long way home, right? Take care!"

Happy's face dropped. "Where are you going, Luchi?"

The girl turned back smiling, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm a traveling mage."

That got the salmon haired Dragon Slayers attention. "Then why don't you come with us?"

At first she could only stare at him. After all he was a stranger to her; a man she had searched for. They got up, both smiling. Natsu had taken his scarf on, while Happy had jumped up in the air, a pair of wings suddenly on his back. They were both giving her their broadest smiles, their toothy grins.

"We're going home to our Guild, Fairy Tail, in Magnolia. You said you were a mage, right? Then why don't you join our Guild?" Natus' smile was sincere, hopeful even.

"Aye, sir!" Happy's face was battling with the sun, he seemed just that happy.

The blond mage smiled, a bubbling feeling settling in her stomach. She looked up at them with teary eyes, nodding her head. "Okay."

* * *

**Authors note:** I messed up...

I loved this idea, but somehow the ending was really hard to write! I've been working on this for some weeks now, and I decided that I would just post it, hear what you guys think, and then maybe rewrite it later. Yeah, something like that. *-*

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything of Fairy Tail.


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